Effect of gadolinium on hepatic fat quantification using multi-echo reconstruction technique with T2* correction and estimation

Objectives: To determine whether hepatic fat quantification is affected by administration of gadolinium using a multiecho reconstruction technique with T2* correction and estimation.

Methods: Forty-eight patients underwent the investigational sequence for hepatic fat quantification at 3.0T MRI once before and twice after administration of gadopentetate dimeglumine (0.1 mmol/kg). A one-way repeated-measures analysis of variance with pairwise comparisons was conducted to evaluate the systematic bias of fat fraction (FF) and R2* measurements between three acquisitions. Bland-Altman plots were used to assess the agreements between pre- and post-contrast FF measurements in the liver. A P value <0.05 indicated statistically significant difference.

Results: FF measurements of liver, spleen and spine revealed no significant systematic bias between the three measurements (P > 0.05 for all). Good agreements (95 % confidence interval) of FF measurements were demonstrated between pre-contrast and post-contrast1 (-0.49 %, 0.52 %) and post-contrast2 (-0.83 %, 0.77 %). R2* increased in liver and spleen (P = 0.039, P = 0.01) after administration of gadolinium.

Conclusions: Although under the impact of an increased R2* in liver and spleen post-contrast, the investigational sequence can still obtain stable fat quantification. Therefore, it could be applied post-contrast to substantially increase the efficiency of MR examination and also provide a backup for the occasional failure of FF measurements pre-contrast.

Key points: • Fat quantification with IDEAL-based investigational sequence remains stable after gadolinium administration. • It can be integrated into tri-phase liver MRI without adding scan time. • This helps optimize MR protocols and provides more useful information for clinicians.